AN ARTIST has found an answer to the question of what to do with loved ones’ ashes – making photo frames from them.

University of Brighton graduate Amanda Cotton made her name creating picture frames with placentas for parents and families of newborn babies.

She has now expanded her range to cater for the opposite end of the life cycle.

Amanda, 26, developed her technique while studying 3D materials practice at the university and she focuses on using recycled materials.

She said: “We need to think of all waste in a completely new way: as raw materials which hold huge potential.

“Why not use human bio materials and ashes where possible?

“They have valid aesthetic value and using materials with personal significance can provide relatives with poignant and permanent reminders of their loves ones.”

Amanda places a small amount of ashes into a mould with other materials which enable the frame to set.

Each frame carries the relative’s birth and death dates, inset on the edges.

Her first commission came from Sandra Lawrence, from Staffordshire, who wanted a permanent memorial to her father.

Dennis Dickens served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and died 11 years ago.

Sandra said: “I never knew what to do with his ashes. I didn’t want to scatter them because I wanted a lasting memory.

“When I heard about Amanda’s frame it appealed to me immediately and what she has created is a beautiful thing to remember my father by, and it is something that can move with us wherever we live.

“I am sure my father would have admired the frame and the work that has gone into it, and it gives me the opportunity to keep a part of my dad in a beautiful piece of art that I will treasure forever.”

For more information, visit www.amandacotton.co.uk.